Insulating protection box useful for certain sensitive products

ABSTRACT

Insulating protection box, or a protection insert for certain sensitive product, like shock sensitive products, temperatures sensitive products and products inclined to explode, and made of a relatively thick, flat base material plate ( 1 ) of mineral wool or an equivalent material which at the exterior side thereof is provided with a shape keeping material ( 2 ), like a hen wire net, which is slightly pressed into the base material, which has thereafter been cured, and which at the opposite side of the base material is formed with corner recesses ( 6 ), and in which the box is manufactured by folding up side pieces ( 9 ) against the bottom ( 8 ) and the corner joints ( 6 ) are interconnected. At the exterior side the box blank may have a surface covering exteriorly of the shape keeping material ( 2 ), which surface covering may be a foil ( 3 ) of aluminum or some suitable plastic material.

[0001] The present invention generally relates to an insulating protection box, or a protection insert for a packaging box useful for certain sensitive products. By sensitive products is meant, in this connection, especially shock sensitive products and products which are inclined to explode. Especially many products included in modern motor cars need very safe transport packages, for instance car crash (safety) cushions, car safety belts, car safety side cushions, side protection curtains and other products containing certain types of explosives, thermostat systems which are sensitive to too high or too low temperatures, crash sensors which are sensitive to shocks, and many other types of products.

[0002] For transportation of such “sensitive products” there have been developed form pressed, fully moulded or in any other way manufactures boxes or packages, comprising a relatively thick fire resistant insulating material, for instance form pressed mineral wool. The manufacture of such products, which are pressed into box shape, present substantial working environment problems. The stuffing of the press tools with mineral wool give rise to loads of shoulders and the neck of the operator, and at the same time the mineral wool, which has not yet become cured, issues certain annoying and to some degree unhealthy gases to which the operator is subjected during the relatively long mineral wool stuffing time. There has consequently been a constant ambition to provide quick filling times involving as little need for manual stuffing as possible.

[0003] Complete boxes, which, in spite of being perfect from insulation technical viewpoints, are bulky during the transportation to the deliverer (the packer) of the sensitive products, and therefore attempts have been made to provide boxes which can be transported in a less bulky shape.

[0004] The object of the invention therefore has been to solve the problem of providing a packaging box, or a box insert for certain sensitive products, which box is preferably made of a relatively thick mineral wool material or another material having equivalent properties, which material is shock damping, which has thermal insulating properties both against heat and cold, and which is capable of damping eventual accidental releasing of small explosive charges.

[0005] According to the invention the box is made in the form of a plate or board of a relatively thick material like mineral wool or an equivalent material. The thickness of the plate is to be considered in view of the demands on fire resistance, shock damping etc. which are called for in each specific case. Generally there are used plates having a thickness of between 20 and 100 mm. Such plates can not be folded without becoming broken, and therefore the plate has to be formed with grooves along which the bottom, the sides and the lid can be folded to provide an integral closed box. A problem in this connection is to keep the different parts of the box in contact with each other while the box parts are being folded together. Mineral wool has not sufficient tensile strength for allowing a formation of “creasing lines”, what is very well possible with for instance corrugated cardboard. To this end the side of the material plate intended to form the exterior side of the ready box can be formed with a covering of a material having a high tensile strength, for instance a textile material, a foil or a suitable non-inflammable material, eventually combined with each other, whereas the other side of the plate is formed with grooves for making the folding possible. This can be achieved in that a non-cured (hardened) plate is placed on a press plate having a suitable profile, the intended surface covering material or materials are placed on the mineral wool plate and the combined base material is moved into a heating press, in which the mineral wool becomes pressed and cured while grooves are pressed down into the mineral wool material, and the surface covering material or materials is/are pressed to stick to the other side of the mineral wool plate. After the combined material has eventually been cut clean the box is ready for being folded into box shape, but of course it may alternatively be send to the user of the box in flat condition.

[0006] The invention also relates to a method of manufacturing an insulating protection box or an insert for an insulating protection box, according to which method a box is made from a flat blank of a relatively thick insulating material having fire proof, shock damping, thermal insulating properties, and which has thereby explosion preventive properties, which blank, at the exterior side of the box to be made is formed with a shape binding/keeping material, like a metal net or a synthetic resin type material, whereupon grooves corresponding to the joints between the different box parts are milled or cut up to a depth adjacent the shape keeping material, and the different parts of the box are fold together to form a substantially sealed box. For certain purposes the box material with the shape keeping material, which may be a metal net, a synthetic resin or a corresponding material can be covered with a liquid and/or gas sealing material, like an aluminum foil or a suitable synthetic resin.

[0007] In some cases an increased sealing of the joints at the bottom, the top or the sides of the box is required, and in such case the grooves may be formed to provide a type of labyrinth sealing which makes it difficult for liquid, gas or air to penetrate out of or into the box.

[0008] Now the invention is to be described more in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show some various examples of an insulating protection box or an insulating box insert according to the invention. Many further alternative embodiments may, however, be presented within the scope of the appended claims.

[0009] In the drawings

[0010]FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a blank for a box having bottom and sides, before the shape keeping material and eventually a liquid- and gas-sealing material is applied at the exterior side of the box to be formed.

[0011]FIG. 2 shows an intermediate method step in which grooves have been milled up or cut up grooves in the material for the corner joints to be formed.

[0012]FIG. 3 shows a partly ready made rectangular box whereby two sides thereof have been fold up.

[0013]FIG. 4 is a plan view of a blank for a box having bottom, sides and top.

[0014]FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view showing a cross section through a blank for a box formed with one possible example of labyrinth corner joint parts, and

[0015]FIG. 6 shows a ready corner provided from the blank of FIG. 5.

[0016]FIGS. 7 and 8 show, like in FIGS. 5 and 6, a blank and a corner, respectively, of an alternative type of labyrinth joint.

[0017]FIG. 9 shows a press plate having a screen for providing grooves in the mineral wool material.

[0018] The blank for a box shown in FIG. 1 can be made of a relatively thick plate or board 1, for instance a plate of a mineral wool material having a thickness of 20-100 mm. In the illustrated case it is intended to form a parallel epipedical box, but it is obvious that the box may alternatively have a polygonal bottom section, or even that the box may have a curved or otherwise formed bottom plane. In FIGS. 1-3 is shown a box part comprises only a bottom and sides, but it is to be understood that also a lid can be formed integral with the box blank. It is indicated in FIG. 1 that the exterior side of the box to be formed should be provided with a shape keeping material 2, in the illustrated case sketched as a hen net or a chicken wire net, but said shape keeping material may be of any other material having form stiff properties, so that is can keep the bottom, the side pieces and the lid together when the box is fold together along given fold lines. It is also indicated in FIG. 1 that the box material can be formed with a surface layer 3 which can be a liquid or gas sealing material, for instance a suitable plastic material or an aluminum foil.

[0019] The blank for the box can be made in that a plate of a non-cured mineral wool material is placed, with one side thereof, against a groove forming screen pattern provided in the press, as indicated in FIG. 9. On the other surface there is placed a material having a high tensile strength, and thereafter the plate is pressed and cured. If found suitable a further protecting and/or decorative surface layer may thereafter be attached to the exterior surface of the box to be formed.

[0020] The blank of the box also can be made in that a flat blank of a relatively thick insulating material having fire proof (protecting) and shock dampening properties and which has thermal insulating properties, and which thereby has explosion protecting properties on one side of the blank, namely the exterior side of the box to be manufactured is formed with a stiffening material having strong tensile properties, like a metal wire net 2, or another material like some type of synthetic resin net, whereupon V-grooves 6 are milled or cut out at the opposite side of the blank to a depth adjacent the surface covering material.

[0021] In FIG. 1 is indicated by dotted lines how corner joints 4 and 5 can be milled or cut out from the upper side of the plate or board 1 down to a depth adjacent the shape keeping material 2. Said corner joints can be formed as grooves, e.g. V-grooves 6 as partially shown in FIG. 2, but the joints also can be formed as some type of labyrinth sealing means, as shown in FIGS. 5-8.

[0022] After the box material has been formed with a shape keeping bottom layer and has been pressed and cured, and may have been formed with a combined bottom layer 2+3, and has been formed with grooves or recesses 6 for corner joints, and after excess portions of the material, like the cut out joint parts 6 and the corner parts 7 have been removed, the blank is formed to a box, as indicated in FIG. 3. Said FIG. 3 shows a box having a bottom 8 and four side pieces 9, only two of side pieces 9 of which are shown fold up against the bottom 8. The joints 6 may, upon need, be fixed by means of tape or glue. It is obvious that the box is substantially sealed.

[0023] In FIG. 4 is shown a blank for a box adapted to provide a closed box having a bottom 8, side pieces 9 and a lid 10. Otherwise the box blank is identical to the box blank shown in FIGS. 1-3.

[0024]FIG. 9 shows a way of manufacturing a box of the type shown in FIG. 4. Thereby there is used a press plate which is suitably profiled or is formed with a groove forming screen pattern, for instance formed as a square pattern of V-shaped metal profiles 13 on top of which the mineral wool material is placed. On top of the mineral wool material the shape keeping material having a high tensile strength is placed, for instance the chicken wire net, whereupon the entire apparatus with the combined material is moved into a heating press in which the mineral wool is pressed and is cured, whereby the metal profiles 13 form grooves 6 on one side (the inner side) at the same time as the shape keeping material, e.g. the chicken wire net, or the synthetic resin net, is pressed into the mineral wool material on the exterior side of the box to be manufactured. Thereafter an additional protecting and/or decorative surface layer can be attached on top of the shape keeping material.

[0025] For certain purposes it can be or value to foresee that the corner joints are as liquid and gas sealed as possible, and to this end the corner joints can be formed as a type of labyrinth joints, as shown in a first example, out of many possible examples, in FIGS. 5 and 6, and a second possible example as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The joint of FIGS. 5 and 6 is formed as a three-step angle joint 11 whereby the joint surfaces are located at right angles to each other. In FIGS. 7 and 8 is shown a corresponding labyrinth sealing 12 which at the lower/outer part thereof is formed with a bevelled groove joint followed by an angle joint.

[0026] Reference Numerals

[0027]1 plate

[0028]2 shape keeping material

[0029]3 surface layer

[0030]4 corner marking

[0031]5 corner marking

[0032]6 groove

[0033]7 corner part

[0034]8 bottom

[0035]9 side pieces

[0036]10 lid

[0037]11 3-stage angle joint

[0038]12 mitre and angle joint

[0039]13 metal profiles, screen 

1. Insulating protection box, or a protection insert for a packaging box to be used for certain sensitive product, like shock sensitive products, temperatures sensitive products and products inclined to explode, and made of a relatively thick base material of mineral wool or another material having equivalent properties, and in which the box is made starting with a flat plate (1) of mineral wool or an equivalent material type, which at one side thereof is formed with corner recesses (6), and in which the box is manufactured by folding up the side pieces (9) against the bottom (8) and the corner joints (6) are interconnected to form a closed integral unit, characterized in that the insulating protection box is exteriorly provided with a shape keeping material (2) having a high tensile strength and which is preferably slightly pressed into the base material, which has thereafter been cured (hardened).
 2. Box according to claim 1, characterized in that the shape keeping material is a metal net, for instance a hen wire net or a chicken wire net (2), which is pressed a slight distance into the base material (1), and which is secured therein in that the base material, which contains certain resins, has been heat cured.
 3. Box according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the base material (1) at the exterior side of the box to be made, exteriorly of the shape keeping material (2) is covered with a decorative, liquid tight or gas tight covering (3) of a plastic material, an aluminum foil or an equivalent material.
 4. Box according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the corner recesses are formed as V-grooves (6) or some type of labyrinth grooves (11; 12).
 5. Box according to claim 4, characterized in that the corner joints (6; 11; 12) of the box are secured by means of tape or glue.
 6. Box according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the base material of the box, after having been pressed and cured, has a thickness of between 20 and 100 mm.
 7. A method of manufacturing an insulating protection box, or a protection insert for a packaging box useful for certain sensitive products, like shock sensitive products, temperature sensitive products and products which are inclined to explode, and made of a relatively thick base material of mineral wool or another material having equivalent properties, characterized in that a box is made from a flat blank (1) of a relatively thick base material like mineral wool or a material having equivalent properties, in that the blank (1), at the exterior side of the box to be made, is formed with a shape keeping material (2), for instance a metal net, in that the shape keeping material (2) is pressed a slight distance into the base material (1), in that the base material with the shape keeping (2) is pressed and is heat cured, and in that grooves (4, 5) for the joints (6) between the different box parts (8-10) are pressed into or cut out of the base material (1) to a depth close to the shape keeping material (2), and that the different parts (8-10) of the box are fold together thereby forming a substantially sealed box.
 8. A method according to claim 7, characterized in that a metal net, for instance a hen wire net or a chicken wire net (2) is used as a shape keeping material, and in that a decorative liquid and gas tight material (3), like an aluminum foil or a suitable plastic material is connected by tape or glue outside of the shape keeping material (2), and whereby grooves (4, 5) for the joints (6) are pressed into the base material using a screen (13) of a press plats, at the same time as the shape keeping material (2) is pressed into the opposite side of the base material, whereupon the entire objects is pressed and is cured.
 9. A method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the grooves (4, 5) for the joints between the different box parts (8-10) are substantially V-shaped grooves (6) or some type of labyrinth grooves (11; 12). 